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Marlen Ochoa-Lopez’s baby is alive but in grave condition

A 19-year-old pregnant woman who vanished last month was found dead in a Chicago home, authorities said. Police said they believe she was killed and her unborn baby was forcibly removed.

Marlen Ochoa-Lopez, who was nine-months pregnant, disappeared on April 23 after she went to get baby items from a woman she met on a Facebook group, a spokesperson for the victim’s family told CNN affiliate WGN.

Her body was found this week, and the cause of death was homicide by strangulation, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said Wednesday.

The day she was reported missing, a call for help for a baby came from the same address where Ocha-Lopez’s body was later found.

“We believe that she was murdered, and we believe that the baby was forcibly removed following that murder,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department.

“It just seems surreal. You see this stuff on the movies. You never get to know someone, people actually are this evil,” the spokesperson, Cecilia Garcia, told CNN affiliate WLS.

Detectives have detained four people for questioning, he said. Authorities declined to confirm any other details, citing an open investigation.